He wants you to know that He loves you more than you can imagine and He can turn your dashed dreams into something beautiful. - Joel Osteen
Excerpt from the book "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen
I
recently read a retelling of the timeless story The Tale of Three
Trees. This fictitious children's book relates the lofty aspirations of
an olive tree, an oak tree and a pine tree. Each of these trees had a
great dream to become something special in life. The olive tree dreamed
of becoming a finely crafted treasure chest. It wanted to hold gold,
silver, and precious jewels. One day a woodsman chose the one olive
tree, out of all the trees in the forest, and cut it down. The olive
tree was so thrilled. But as the craftsmen began working on him, the
tree realized they weren't making him into a beautiful treasure chest;
they were making him into a manger to hold food for dirty, smelly
animals. Heartbroken, his dreams were shattered. He felt worthless and
demeaned.
Similarly
the oak tree dreamed of becoming part of a huge ship that would carry
important kings across the ocean. When the woodsman cut down the oak, he
was so excited. But as time went on, he realized the craftsmen weren't
making him into a huge ship. They were making him into a tiny fishing
boat. He was so discouraged, so disappointed.
The
pine tree lived on top of a high mountain. Its only dream was to always
stand tall and remind people of God's great creation. But in a split
second, a bolt of lightning sent it tumbling to the ground, destroying
it's dreams. The woodsman came and picked it up and carried it off to
the scrap pile.
All
three of these trees felt they had lost their value and their worth;
they were so discouraged, so disappointed. Not one of their dreams had
come to pass. But God had other plans for these trees. Many years later,
Mary and Joseph couldn't find any place to give birth to their little
baby boy. They finally found a stable, and when Jesus was born they
placed Him in a manger made from---you guessed it---the olive tree. The
olive tree had wanted to hold precious jewels, but God had better plans,
and it now held the greatest treasure of all time, the Son of God.
A
few years went by and Jesus grew up. One day He needed a boat to cross
to the other side of the lake. He didn't choose a large, fancy ship; He
chose a small, simple fishing boat made from---you guessed it---the oak
tree. The oak tree wanted to carry important kings across the ocean, but
God had better plans. The oak now carried The King of kings.
A
few more years went by, and one day some Roman soldiers were rummaging
around in the pile of scrap wood where the discarded pine tree lay. That
pine tree just knew they were coming to cut him up for firewood. But
much to its surprise, they cut only two small pieces out of it and
formed them into a cross. And it was on this pine tree that Jesus was
crucified. That tree is still pointing people to God's love and God's
compassion to this day.
The
point of the classic story is clear: All three trees thought they had
lost their value, that their stories were over, yet they became integral
parts of the greatest story ever told.
You may feel that your great aspirations have been dashed by the choices you have made or the choices imposed on you by others. You may feel that you are trapped in a rut, but there's hope! God wants to restore your sense of value. David wrote, "God has lifted me out of the horrible pit and He set my feet upon a rock and He put new song in my mouth". God wants to put a new song in your heart; He wants to fill you with hope. He wants you to know that He loves you more than you can imagine and He can turn your dashed dreams into something beautiful.
